How to Price Your First Brand Deal With No Past Deals
No paid deals yet? Build your first brand deal quote from your hours, your floor and your costs, then price paid ads and exclusivity as separate lines.
If you've never been paid for a brand deal, build your first quote from the work, not from an average. Get the scope from the brand and time the work. Multiply by your own hourly floor, then add costs and a tax set-aside. Price paid ads, exclusivity and extra revisions as separate lines.
An average can't do this for you. On TikTok, tagging a brand as your partner on a sponsored post lets it run that post as an ad for 60 days by default (TikTok Ads Help). A "per post" average doesn't say whether 60 days of ads were included.
Step 1: What should I ask before I give a number?
Ask six questions. Every line of your quote depends on the answers.
- Deliverables: which platform, how many posts, and how long?
- Usage: will the brand only reshare it, or also run it as a paid ad? For how long?
- Revisions: how many rounds of changes?
- Exclusivity: should you avoid other brands in its category? For how long?
- Timeline: when is the draft due, and when does it post?
- Payment: what's the payment date, and is product included?
If the brand can't answer some yet, quote the lines you know and say which ones are open.
Step 2: How do I work out how long it takes?
Time your last similar post, stage by stage. Count the admin too: the brief, calls, the revision and the invoice. Your own posts don't have that work, so it's easy to miss.
Example: one 60-second TikTok. Idea and script 1.5 hours, filming 2, editing 2.5, admin and one revision 1. Total: 7 hours.
Step 3: What hourly rate do I use with no deals?
Use your floor: the least an hour of your time is worth to you. Take it from a number you already know. That could be what your job pays per hour, or the income you want from brand work divided by the hours you can give it.
Example: your job pays $30 an hour. 7 hours x $30 = $210.
Step 4: Which costs and taxes go in?
YouTube's own pricing advice starts here: "First, be sure to assess what your costs will be" (YouTube Help). Add what you spend to make the post: props, travel, location, product you buy, paid music, editing help. Example: $25 of props, so $235.
In the US, self-employment tax is 12.4% for Social Security plus 2.9% for Medicare, 15.3% combined, on most of your net earnings (IRS). Income tax comes on top. Choose the share you set aside and price so the rest still covers your work.
Example: you set aside 25%. $235 ÷ 0.75 = $313.33, rounded up to $315. After the set-aside you keep $236.25, which covers the $235. That $315 is your floor for this scope.
Step 5: How do I price paid ads, exclusivity and revisions?
Price each as its own line. The brand sees what it's buying and can remove what it doesn't need.
Paid ads. Each big platform treats this as a permission you give. On TikTok, you generate the ad code and pick 7, 30, 60 or 365 days (TikTok Ads Help). On Instagram, advertisers need your permission to run partnership ads that include your handle (Instagram Help). On YouTube, a brand can boost your video "if boosting has been negotiated as part of the campaign" (YouTube Help). So price paid ads per period. None of these help pages give a percentage, so pick one and use it every time. Example: 30% of your floor per 30 days, which is $94.50, so $95.
Exclusivity. Price the deals you'd have to turn down for that period. Example: not requested, $0.
Extra revisions. Include one round. Charge for more at your floor plus set-aside. Example: $30 ÷ 0.75 = $40 an hour.
Step 6: What does the quote look like?
Example:
For one 60-second TikTok with one round of revisions, posted on my account: $315. To run it as a paid ad for 30 days: +$95, so $410 total. Extra revision rounds: $40 an hour. Payment within 30 days of posting. Happy to adjust the scope to fit your budget.
If the budget is lower, cut scope, not your floor. Drop the paid ads, not the $315.
Always put a payment date in writing. In New York City, a freelance contract worth $800 or more must be in writing. If it doesn't set a payment date, the hiring party must pay within 30 days after the work is done (NYC Freelance Isn't Free Act FAQ).
What if the brand only offers free product?
Treat it as a deal with a scope and ask the same six questions. YouTube's advice for videos made in exchange for product: "Keep the value of your time and production costs in mind" (YouTube Help). If the product's value is below your floor for that scope, you're giving a discount. That can be a fine choice if you make it on purpose.
Rate card or per-job quote: which should I use?
Put a deliverable on a rate card only when the six answers stop changing. A card fits repeat work with the same scope. For example: "one TikTok, up to 60 seconds, one revision, posted on my account, no ads, no exclusivity." Print that scope next to the price.
Quote per job when any answer changes: paid ads, exclusivity, a custom shoot, or a bundle across platforms. Start from the card price as your floor.
A simple test before you add a line to the card: you've delivered that exact scope for pay at least twice, and your real hours matched your estimate both times.
What should I track after each deal?
Log real hours, real costs, revision rounds and the date the money arrived. If the 7-hour video took 10, the next quote uses 10. That log becomes your baseline.
Snippet keeps brand replies, rates and deal details together. Try Snippet.
Sources
- TikTok Ads Help, About the Brand Partner tag in content disclosure settings: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/about-the-brand-partner-tag-in-content-disclosure-settings
- TikTok Ads Help, How to create Spark Ads for Smart+ campaigns: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/how-to-create-spark-ads-for-smart-campaigns-on-tiktok-ads-manager
- Instagram Help, About partnership ad permissions: https://www.facebook.com/help/instagram/442108830566254
- YouTube Help, Tips for driving brand deals: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12929858
- YouTube Help, YouTube Creator Partnerships: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9385307
- IRS, Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc554
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Freelance Isn't Free Act FAQ: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/workers/FAQs-Freelance.pdf
Aayush Upadhyay
Co-founder, Snippet
Building Snippet, the AI talent agency that helps content creators land brand deals without agencies. Previously scaled creator partnerships at multiple startups. Obsessed with using AI to democratize talent management for the 32 million mid-tier creators who deserve better representation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What hourly rate do I use with no deals?
Use your floor: the least an hour of your time is worth to you. Take it from a number you already know. That could be what your job pays per hour, or the income you want from brand work divided by the hours you can give it.
What if the brand only offers free product?
Treat it as a deal with a scope and ask the same six questions. If the product's value is below your floor for that scope, you're giving a discount. That can be a fine choice if you make it on purpose.
Rate card or per-job quote: which should I use?
Put a deliverable on a rate card only when the six answers stop changing. Quote per job when any answer changes: paid ads, exclusivity, a custom shoot, or a bundle across platforms.